Vero Beach man heading to prison for DUI manslaughter

VERO BEACH — A man who sped through stop signs and red lights — while out of bail on a DUI manslaughter charge — is now headed to his next destination: nine years in state prison.

Circuit Judge Robert Pegg ordered John Wesley Harden, 31, of the 6300 block of Seventh Street, Vero Beach, to almost a decade in prison, of which he must serve at least four years, for the drunken-driving accident that killed 81-year-old Ed Motyka, of Vero Beach.

During March 2011, Harden turned left off Indian River Boulevard and into the path of Motyka’s vehicle on 45th Street. Harden’s blood alcohol content exceeded the legal limit of 0.08.

While out of jail on bail on that charge, Harden tried to elude deputies until they put out devices that punctured the tires of his minivan. He then fled on foot, but was caught by a K-9 in a rural area in the 9900 block of State Road 60.

When he was apprehended, he told deputies he didn’t want to be caught because he was wanted on an arrest warrant from Georgia, according to arrest affidavits.

His bail was revoked and he was put in the Indian River County Jail until he entered a no contest plea and went before Pegg on Wednesday. In addition to the DUI sentence, Pegg ordered Harden to five years in prison for fleeing and eluding deputies. That sentence runs as the same time as the DUI prison term.